Home security systems, environment control systems, telephone answering machines, lights and appliances found in the home can be controlled by microprocessor based, programmable control systems. Several commercially available systems provide the capability to connect electrically operated appliances and lights in a house-wide network. Such a network is known as an integrated home automation system (IHAS). These systems provide centralized, programmable control over any and all of the devices making up the network.
One such system is TotalHome, made by Honeywell. A description of this system is given in the May 1992 issue of "Popular Science" magazine on page 48. TotalHome includes a wall-mounted microprocessor-based control unit and provides the ability to control up to ten lights or appliances, ten points of security, and home temperature. In TotalHome and other similar systems, the existing household electrical wiring into which appliances are plugged for power is used to provide electronic communication between those appliances and the control unit. In a system configured in this manner a person may program the control unit to start, stop or otherwise alter the operation of various appliances at the appropriate time throughout a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. The program may be reviewed and the operational status of any appliance monitored by means of a small visual display located on the control unit.
Electrically powered garage door operators are widely used in American homes and may be remotely actuated, usually by means of a radio frequency transmitter, to open and close a garage door. One such garage door operator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,809 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Personal computers may be used as planning and scheduling tools, with many companies selling software packages which allow a person to maintain an electronic calendar of upcoming appointments and events. The user can update the computer data base as necessary and thereby reduce the likelihood of forgetting any of these commitments. One practical limitation on the usefulness of a schedule maintained on a computer data base is that in order to be reminded of a scheduled event a user must have access to the computer and consult the data base in some fashion, i.e., must enter commands through a keyboard or the like to call up the information on a personal computer display screen.
An effective time to remind a computerized schedule user of events scheduled for a particular day is before the user departs his/her home at the start of that day. This is also an appropriate time to alert that person to any important information about the status of household systems or devices. Assuming that the person leaves home by way of a garage, the exterior surface of the garage door provides, when in the closed position, an area clearly visible to occupants of a departing vehicle.